The present invention generally relates to an automatic performance apparatus that allows a wide variety of automatic performance in which properties of performance tones and performance contents can be varied real-time.
Automatic performance apparatuses are conventionally available in which either of an arpeggio performance and a pattern performance are created. In the arpeggio performance, notes corresponding to keys depressed on a music keyboard are sequentially played according to arpeggio patterns such as up, down, alternate (up-down), and random. Generally, arpeggio means production of the tones of a chord in rapid succession rather than simultaneously. On the other hand, in the pattern performance, a plurality of prestored performance patterns are assigned to a plurality of keys of a music keyboard beforehand, and one performance pattern corresponding to one depressed key is reproduced.
However, in order to give fullness or richness to music tones or in order to vary the properties thereof in the arpeggio performance or the pattern performance by generating plural tones for one note, the conventional apparatuses must have a capability of generating plural tones for one note on the side of a tone generator.
In order to generate arpeggio performance tones or pattern performance tones of different pitches without depressing other keys than a target key in the arpeggio performance or the pattern performance, so-called transposition must be set on the side of the tone generator, making the operation very cumbersome.
Further, the user sometimes wants to make a wide variety of the arpeggio performance or the pattern performance by varying the contents thereof. However, the performance contents can be varied only by positioning a cursor to various parameters displayed on a display and by changing the parameter values with "+/-" switches, for example. Therefore, it is practically impossible to vary real-time the performance contents of the arpeggio performance or the pattern performance during the course of automatic performance.